


Find Robin

by loofingaround



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman Beyond, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Accidental Brother Acquisition, Angst, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Damian Wayne is the Demon's Head, Eventual Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Matt McGinnis is Robin, Matt McGinnis-centric, Older Damian Wayne, Protective Damian Wayne, babs curare and i think tim i cant remember are mentioned or spoken to, bad pacing and plot holes cause idk how to write, but only after he acts stupid and bad, on damians part lol, other characters are mentioned but dont or wont have big roles but, ras is fucking dead lol hahah
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:14:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28683135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loofingaround/pseuds/loofingaround
Summary: Terry's gone missing and Bruce's disappearance follows soon after. With lack of input from the police, Matt takes it into his own hands to find help.And that help comes in the form of Damian Al Ghul.
Relationships: Matt McGinnis & Bruce Wayne, Matt McGinnis & Damian Wayne, Matt McGinnis & Terry McGinnis
Comments: 5
Kudos: 33





	1. Missing

**Author's Note:**

> facts will be wrong more than likely. im mixing the tv show, main comics, and the batman beyond comics into one big au. i dont know a /ton/ abt damians roll in BB besides base facts, so sorry if youre a die hard comics fan and i mess up, im trying :-( also some things are changed intentionally to fit the story (such as no batwoman sorry). and sorry to damian fans ahead of time if i suck at writing him im tryna make him a big bro u know?  
> anyways i hope you like reading

It wasn’t supposed to go like this. Damian- Damian said he was going to _help_. They were supposed to figure this out together. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. 

Matt just needed to get up, he needed to find Batman, and he needed to stop Damian Al Ghul. 

* * *

It was a typical, quick retcon mission. Terry was supposed to be in and out. So there was no reason for him to still be out, and there was even less reason for him to be ignoring Bruce’s calls over the communicators. 

There wasn’t any movement from the gang Terry had been sent to watch, indicating a third party. Matt peered at the batcomputer over Bruce’s shoulder, listening in to the man's terse conversation with Mrs. Gordon. Apparently local police hadn’t seen anything, all street cameras had old, looped footage, and there was no word on any new thugs who’d want to take over Gotham. All in all, no leads, no Terry, and no idea what to do next. 

At least, no ideas for Matt. _Robin_ , however, had a great idea. 

“Mr. Wayne-”

“No, Matthew.”

“I haven’t said anything yet!” Matt whined.

Bruce glared at the screen, rubbing a hand down his face. Matt rocked back onto the heels of his feet, glancing at the case that held his Robin suit. Bruce stood up abruptly, ending his call with Mrs. Gordon. He made his way to the cases, Matt following close behind. 

“I can,” Matt started before being cut off. 

“No. If Terry was kidnaped we can’t chance the perp coming back to collect you as well. This could be a trap to get both of you,” Bruce explained, cane clicking against the ground as he walked ahead. 

Matt huffed, “then what are we supposed to do? Terry’s out there! We need to help him!”

Bruce stopped in front of one of the old Batman suits, shoulders slumping at the sight of his reflection against the glass. “You’re inexperienced. I’ll go out and collect clues, find a lead.”

Matt bit his lip, looking at Mr. Wayne. Debating with himself mentally he finally gave in, “but Mr. Wayne… will you be able to? You’re so… what about your cane?”

“It won’t be long. I’ll be fine.”

Bruce pulled the suit out of its case, clicking back towards the caves showers to get changed. Matt continued to follow, covering his eyes when his not-dad-sorta-boss started to get undressed.

“Mr. Wayne, what am I supposed to do then?” Matt whined, “Terry’s out there.”

“Stay here. You’ll be my eyes,” Bruce amended. 

Matt smiled, “I get to control the batcomputer?” 

The older man brushed passed him, and Matt dropped his hands. Mr. Wayne had left his cane behind, dressed in one of the previous batsuits. It looked like Terry’s but there was some obvious wear and tear. Bruce walked, well it was more of a hobble in Matt’s opinion, to the batmobile. The one with wheels that Matt didn’t know how to use. He looked back at Matt, gesturing him forward. 

“Matthew. I need you to listen closely,” Bruce said slowly with practiced ease, “work the comms. If Terry says anything, inform me immediately. Keep an eye on cameras, both around the scene and anything ahead of me. If you see anything?”

“Tell you!” Matt finished. 

“Very good. Now, let’s get your brother back,” Bruce turned back to the car, only stopping when a hand wrapped around his arm. 

“What should I do if something happens to you?” 

Bruce grumbled, “I’ll be fine. Stay here.”

Matt stepped back and watched as the car pulled out of the cave. When he could no longer hear the sound of the tires against the caves rough floor, he hurried back to the batcomputer, flipping through the cameras. Periodically he’d switch on the comms to ask Terry if he was there. No one answered. Matt stayed attentive though, shoving down his rising worry. 

No one was out on the streets, Bruce’s route was completely clear. Not even the Jokerz were out causing trouble. It was unsettling. 

“Mr. Wayne, check in. There’s no one at the site,” Matt bit his lip. The hair on his arms was raised, chills racking over his shoulders. It’d be fine. Terry and Mr. Wayne would be fine. 

“Be sure to keep an eye on the cameras around the area. We can’t know if the footage is just being looped or not. Tell me if you see me pulling in so we can confirm it's clean.” 

That made sense, Matt could do that. He switched the cameras to where Terry had last been, a rooftop not far from Wayne Powers Enterprise’s main building. The footage quality was scratchy at best, you’d think such a prestigious company would have better security but considering who it’s owned by, maybe not. It was grainy, but it was clear as day to see Batman swing onto the roof. 

“It’s off loop, I see you now. No one else around!” Matt reported. 

“Good, tell me if anything changes.”

Matt nodded- oh that was dumb Mr. Wayne couldn’t even see that, and checked Terry’s communicator once again. Juggling through tasks while keeping his eyes on Batman, Matt noticed a skip. The camera to the entrance of the roof Bruce was just on, it’s replaying Batman’s landing. 

“Batman? Did you just reenter the scene?” Matt tried, listening closely for a response. 

Mr. Wayne had already entered the building, and the only way to see what was going on inside was to hack into the building's security. But with the old man not responding to his communicator, it felt like the only option. 

“Batman, which floor are you on?” Nothing. “Batcomputer, load into,” Matt checked the map, “W.P.E warehouse F23.” 

He’d have to check level by level for where Mr. Wayne could be. If he was even in the building. He must be though, Matt saw him go in. On footage that’s now looping. 

The computer binged, pulling up a layout of the warehouse as well as several camera shots from several floors. From a quick glance over, Matt could see damage on floor 36. Smoke was clouding the hall, making it hard to see anything, but it was difficult to tell where the smoke was coming from since there were no lighting changes or flames to indicate a fire. 

Matt was sweating, running a hand over his forehead and clicking on the comm line once again. 

“Batman? Are you there? I’m- I’m gonna call Commissioner Gordon!” He reported, already inputting the GCPD’s call line on the batcomputer. 

Keeping an ear out for Batman, both of them, he listened to the load up noise indicating the call had yet to be answered. Matt’s leg twitched restlessly, Mr. Wayne didn’t give him a back up plan. Maybe he didn’t have one either? If Mrs. Gordon didn’t pick up, or even if she does and can’t help, what was Matt supposed to do? There was no way he could just go to the scene of the disappearance, that was asking to end up just like Terry and Mr. Wayne. But he couldn’t just wait at the cave either. 

“Batman, report,” Matt tested, trying both Terry and Mr. Wayne’s communicators. 

He didn’t get a response, and the call to the GCPD dropped after Mrs. Gordan never picked up. In the quiet of the cave, staring blankly at the only camera on the floor that Matt wasn’t even sure had ties to Batman’s disappearance, Matt didn’t know what to do. 

So he repeated what Mr. Wayne told him to do. He checked in to the comms every three minutes, asking for updates from Terry and Bruce. He kept his eyes on the cameras around the warehouse. He also pinged into the batmobiles, putting both en route to the cave. He added checking in to make sure no one was following the autopilot to his list and started his system. 

After almost an hour, the scene changed; firefighters and cops were showing up to the building. It seemed the GCPD were finally getting calls, Matt took note that communications must have been down all over. 

The firefighters cleared out the smoke, and under it’s heavy fog was nothing substantial. Not even burns from a fire. Maybe if Matt was actually at the scene, maybe, he could find something. But he was at the cave, calling in to both Bat’s once again. 

By the time the police and firefighters and news reporters were gone, the sun was rising and the comm lines were still empty. 

He called Mrs. Gordon again, waiting impatiently and gnawing on his lip. 

After three rings, she picked up, “Bruce. What the hell was that? Your kid smoked out an entire building-”

“Mr. Wayne isn’t here. I think he might’ve been part of what happened to your building. Sorry. I can’t find him or Terry now!” Matt said in a rush, feeling bad about interrupting. 

“Explain.”

“Mr. Wayne couldn’t reach Terry, you already know that, fuck, well. So he tried to go find him and-”

“And now he’s gone too.” Mrs. Gordon finished.

“Mhm,” Matt knew she wasn’t looking for an answer but it was hard to think logically right now. 

“I’m going to tell you what I told Bruce. Except this time, you’ll listen where he wouldn’t. Clearly something is going on, leave this to the police to figure out. If you go out and try to be a hero, you’ll end up missing too. Stay put, if I catch word of another bat out on the streets, I will send police after you to stop you from hurting yourself. Understood?” Her voice was hard, but Matt could tell she was speaking from a place of caring. That didn’t change that her answer sucked, though. 

“But how are you going to find them?” Matt couldn’t stop himself from asking. 

Mrs. Gordon sighed, “that’s for us to figure out. Stay home.”

“Yes ma’am,” but before Matt could finish speaking, the call had ended. 

Matt kept to his seat, thinking. Terry was gone. Terry’s a good fighter, no, he’s probably the strongest person Matt’s ever met. And Matt’s met Superman. There was no way one simple perp could take him down so easy. And Mr. Wayne. He’s old, sometimes Matt thinks he’s been around forever, but that doesn’t mean he’s not capable. Mr. Wayne was the original Batman, and even now in old age, the Justice League still turned to him for help. He could hold his own. So how could someone manage to take down not just Terry but also Mr. Wayne.

It didn’t make sense, Matt’s head was hurting. His eyes were burning with unshed tears, his throat aching. Staring at the empty screen of the batcomputer, Matt let himself cry. His shoulders shaking with each shaky sob. He wiped at his cheeks, sniffling.

“I’m so fucking, fuck. What do I,” Matt bit out, smacking himself on the head.

Smashing a fist against the desk, the boy grunted out in frustration. The screen had gone black, and his reflection stared back at him. And just over his shoulder sat the old suits from lost heroes. 

Matt gasped, sliding out of the seat, tumbling to the cases. 

“Robin,” the boy grinned, “that’s it! _I_ can’t go out, but I can find someone who can.”

Matt thought about it, “if I was a long lost Robin, where would I be?” 

He paced in front of the case. Mr. Wayne never said much about his sons, at least not to Matt. Matt knew he talked more to Terry, which, c’mon, rude. Matt could handle some harsh truths. Family doesn’t always work out, at least not without effort. Not that Matt would ever tell Mr. Wayne didn't try hard enough to keep his kids around, that would be a death wish. 

No, there wasn’t much to work with besides the name. Damian, Damian Wayne. 

Wayne. Matt hummed under his breath, looking back at the batcomputer. There was one thing Terry and Matt could always rely on when it came to Mr. Wayne. His paranoia. 

Matt made his way back to the computer, Mr. Wayne was scared of everything. Meaning he kept documentation on everything and _everyone_ . Contingency plans, pages of reports, and hundreds, maybe thousands, of bios, locations, and theories on everyone Mr. Wayne has ever met. Usually this was something Matt didn’t really _like_ this side of his mentor-sorta-dad, but he has to admit, it comes in handy. 

“Computer, pull up all files on Damian Wayne,” Matt imputed. The loading took longer than he thought it would, and many, many pages popped up. 

There was no better place to start than the beginning, Matt decided. He’d never gotten to know his kinda-half-brother, man Matt needed to work on his labels, and with this maybe being his only chance to ever learn anything, he was going to take it. 

There was a lot to skim over, Damian was from the League of Shadows, which at the time was under the control of Ra’s Al Ghul. His name, or names were listed too. Hafid Al Ghul, and his supposedly preferred name, Ibn Al Xu’ffasch. Since Matt doubted Damian wrote this himself, how his preferences would be known didn’t _really_ make sense, but then again, Mr. Wayne rarely made sense. 

The rest was... messy. Attempted murder(s?) against his siblings, fighting with Mr. Wayne, getting Robin from Nightwing, fallout with the Teen Titans, arguments with his family, and his eventual departure back to his grandfather. It was a lot, most of it upsetting, but it finally led to what he needed to know. 

Damian’s last updated location, Tibet. Mr. Wayne must have updated it after the last time Damian and Terry worked together. It was a rare occurrence, and even more rare the two got along, but Damian must have said something to tip off his current residence. Or at least Matt hoped it was current. If not, he was about to steal the batplane and fly to another country for no reason. 

“Okay, packing. I need to get everything I could possibly need,” Matt told himself, already rushing up the steps out of the batcave. 

“Damn, fucking manson with too many steps,” Matt puffed out, climbing the steps towards the manors bedrooms. His room was messy, he’d had a sleepover with his friends a few nights ago and never bothered to clean up. Now he regretted it, struggling to find clean clothes, a duffle bag, and his wallet to pack away. It took a few minutes, wasted time _damn,_ but Matt got a few outfits packed away, had his ID and Credits, and had some room left over in his bag. 

He hurried back downstairs, pushing his way into the kitchen. He was fairly familiar with the space. Terry was great, really, fantastic brother, a great hero, but he could only cook mac and cheese and make some sandwiches. And Mr. Wayne… it was a wonder how he lived alone for so long. He _could_ cook, if he tried really hard. But usually he didn’t, and the most he could cook when he was trying was plain, boring, ground beef. 

Matt had gotten pretty into cooking since he and Terry came to stay at the manor. 

None of that mattered now, however, Matt had to be quick. There would be no more group dinners if Matt didn’t find his family. He searched through the cabinets, pulling out chips and bread. He packed the chips away and reached back for the bread. He’d make a few sandwiches, something simple. The batplane had rations in the first aid kit, but it was all granola bar type junk. If Matt was gonna be stuck in the air for hours, he’d need something a little more filling. 

Matt got to work, making three different sandwiches and shoving them into his bag. He paused, went to the freezer, and came back to his bag. He shoved an ice pack on top of the food.

“Okay, that should keep it fresh. Lemme just,” Matt trailed off, ducking into the pantry once again, pulling out several Poptarts this time. He pushed those into his duffle as well, finally zipping the bag shut. 

“Okay, next, make sure everything is locked,” Matt mumbled to himself. He started at the front door and made his way into every room he, his brother, or Mr. Wayne may have been in at any point recently to check the windows and any doors. 

Stepping into Terry’s room, Matt was hit with a wave of uncertainty. He made his way to the window, checking the latch. Locked. Matt glanced around the room, stopping when he spotted a discarded jacket. He picked it up, feeling the fabric with his fingers. Unable to hold himself back, he buried his face into the jacket. 

“Terry, I’m gonna borrow your jacket. I’ll give it back when I see you again,” Matt promised the empty room. 

Matt pulled the jacket on and continued on his way, checking he and Bruce’s rooms on the way. When he made his way back downstairs, he caught sight of Ace.

“Ace! How’d I forget?” He asked himself more than the dog. Said dog stretched out of his bed, nosing over to his boy. Matt scritched his head, thinking. 

“I’m not gonna be gone long… Maybe a few days. And you have a locked doggy door anyways,” Matt debated with himself. He headed into the laundry room, his dog following after him. In a big bag sat all of Ace’s food. 

“Ace, I’m gonna be gone for a day or so. I’m gonna pour you enough food for a week, but you have to swear you won’t eat all of it in one sitting!” Matt told the dog.

Ace whined, pushing his nose against the boy's hand. 

“I know, I don’t want to leave either. But I’ll be back soon,” Matt promised, rubbing the dog's head. 

He dumped out Ace’s food, covering the entirety of the laundry room’s floor. Thinking, he walked across the hall into an adjacent bathroom. It was weird, a bathroom Mr. Wayne typically asked then to stay away from. Products still sat on the sink and the cabinets held several items, all that belonged to a man named Alfred that used to work for Mr. Wayne. The old man said he never had the heart to clean out his deceased friend's room or bathroom, and Terry and Matt listened to his wishes to stay away. 

Until today. Matt turned on the bathtub, plugging it and keeping the water on cold. When it was just over half full, he cut the water off. He whistled to his dog; Ace trotted in and stared at the bath. 

“You’re not gonna get in it, don’t worry. This is your water bowl while I’m gone, ‘kay?”

He accepted the bark he got in return and watched the Great Dane take a few licks from the water. 

“Okay, schway. Alright yea, that should be it,” Matt pet the god and headed back out. He grabbed his bag before filing down the steps to the cave, shutting the clock behind him to make sure Ace couldn’t follow. 

Matt hasn’t controlled the batplane before, but he knew it would have an autopilot. He’d just need to get into the air and then it’d be fine. Matt shrugged the duffle bag off his shoulder and onto the floor of the plane. 

“Hm, I should print off some of the info I have on Damian…” he decided, heading back to the computer. He waited for the printer to finish, rocking back and forth. He peeked over his shoulder, spotting the memorial case for Robin once again. Matt bit his lip. Terry said no Robin, Mr. Wayne said no Robin, and Mrs. Gordon said no Robin. He wasn’t going to take the suit. 

He grabbed the printed off papers and set the batcomputer to house lockdown. Hopefully no one was going to break in while he was gone. With everything set, he piled into the plane, making his way to the pilot's seat to put in the coordinates of Damian’s base. He took one last look at the cave, his eyes catching once more. 

“Damnit, Matt,” he swore, rushing out of the plane. He reached the uniform cases and ripped his own old Robin costume out before he could change his mind. “The suit was made for me anyways, I should get to use it!” 

He ran back to the batcomputer to click on the communication lines once more, reaching out to Mr. Wayne and Terry. 

“Batman, if you’re out there, say something!” A pause, “don’t worry, I’m going to get help. Robin’s on the way!” 

Matt signed off, climbing back into the plane and into his seat, setting his uniform into the seat next to him. He finalized the coordinates and felt the jet shift. He pulled on his buckle, this part he knew from the short training he did receive, and tried not to cringe when the aircraft pushed towards the entrance of the cave. 

“Food, check. Clothes and ID in case I need to be a civilian, check. Credits just in case, check. And my uniform has a few birdarangs already… should I have grabbed more? Well the plane has some too. It’s fine-” Matt bit back a yelp as the jet shot forward. 

The exit of the cave was showing up fast, and Matt steadied his grip on the handles. Shooting out the cave, the plane- jet? Matt wasn’t an engineer, don’t judge. The plane thingy took off, lifting into the sky just as it reached the cliff off the side of Wayne Manor. Water beneath him and an ironclad grip on the controls, Matt waited until the manor was out of sight before switching on camouflage and autopilot. 

He sat back in his seat, wiping some sweat off his forehead. What if he was messing up here. Maybe he acted too fast. Maybe if he’d waited, Mr. Wayne and Terry would’ve shown back up. 

Matt huffed out a breath, it’d be fine. Say he did jump to conclusions, he had his communicator. If his family returned, they’d contact him and he could tell them what happened. It may be embarrassing, and Terry may never let him live it down, but Matt could live with that. And if Matt was right, and Batman needed backup, there was no way that back up was coming from the cops. He’d need help, and Damian was the only candidate. Or at least the only one of his family who was still in commission and may be somewhat willing to help. 

He would figure this out. He was Robin, he’d save Batman, go home, and who knows. Maybe Damian would come back to the manor with him.

Matt sat back in his chair, fiddling with the buckle and feeling a little better. He could do this. Only a 16 hour flight and he’d be at Damian’s door. He hoped Terry and Mr. Wayne would be okay. He just had to remind himself they were strong, and in the meantime, he’d study and train. He needed to be prepared for anything. 


	2. Mud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tibet's in sights. Man, rescue missions are so easy and totally not difficult at all.

Matt lifted his face from where it’s been smooshed against Terry’s jacket. Something was beeping at him. He looked around, he was still skyborne and the sky was just starting to brighten. He looked at the batplanes console, twenty minutes until landing. He’d chosen a forest near the coordinates to land in. He could walk the short distance to where the base was. 

He stretched, popping his back. He’d been training earlier, practicing his punches, kicking into the air, and using the pole of a broom he’d found shoved into one of the bins, he practiced as if he had a sword. After, he’d eaten a sandwich and curled up in the too big set of the batplane to nap a few hours away. 

He was close to landing, so he may as well get changed into his Robin suit now. 

“Damn, it’s more annoying to put on than I remembered,” Matt grumbled, tugging at the fabric. The head sock came on last, the whiteouts over his eyes concealing the last bits of his identity. 

He plopped back down into his seat, hands gripping onto the steering controls. “Alright, let's get this over with,” he huffed out. The computer system would take care of most the work, but Matt would need to be attentive to stop any possible miscalculations. 

The ground was appearing under the plane slowly. Trees in fat clumps obscured his view, but there should be a small clearing up ahead he could land in. The land around was rocky, he’d probably be hiking up to Damian’s base rather than walking. Damn. 

Matt was jerked back to the present as the plane slowed further, the landing wheels out and colliding with the ground. Matt made sure the breaks were catching, that the aircraft was slowing down and not about to smash into the side of a mountain. Everything slowed down and soon enough, Matt was at a full stop. 

He let out a deep breath, unbuckling at getting out of his seat. Damian should know who he is even without an ID, so he’d leave it behind. He shouldn’t need clothes or anything either. But he might get hungry. 

Matt rubbed at his chin, humming to himself. He grabbed some chips out of his bag then paused. 

“I don’t have pockets,” he glanced back at his chair and scooped up Terry’s jacket, slipping it on and sliding the bag of chips into his pocket. “Okay, we’re good.” 

He pulled the key fob from the plane and made sure the camouflage was stuck in place. It’d be a real shit show if someone found Batman’s jet in the middle of a forest somewhere in Tibet. 

Matt dropped out the plane, clicking on the A.I in his mask to direct him towards the League of Shadow’s hideout. It shouldn’t be more than a twenty minute walk. He could do this. Pushing forward, he began his trek to the base. It’d be so easy to fly, but he really didn’t need to be caught and captured right now, so on foot it was. 

“Hello,” Matt whispered to the little bugs on the tree trunk he was passing, “see you later.” 

“Almost there,” he grunted out, reaching up to a tree branch to pull himself up a ledge. A branch broke, but before Matt could freak out about falling, he realized it wasn’t the branch he was using. Getting onto the ledge, he looked around. It was quiet. The shadows were empty too. 

“If you’re out there and you’re an evil guy, you suck at your job!” Matt called out. Not getting a reply or an attack, Matt continued on. Birds, bugs, foxes, could have been anything. 

As Matt passed a bush and stepped into another clearing, his mask beeped, informing him he had arrived. Matt took everything in, biting his lip. 

“I must have put the coordinates in wrong,” he muttered, retying the numbers into the little ‘puter on his wrist. When his mask only beeped at him in response, he started to worry. 

“This can’t be it,” Matt gasped, looking at the decrepit ruins. It looked like it could have been a base at some point, but now it was a burnt, half collapsed mass. There was an entrance just to the left of where Matt was, so he approached it, wary of the weak architecture. He pushed against one burnt suspension beam, and when it didn’t give, he continued forward. 

It was dark inside, several portions of the tunnel-esc building collapsed. From above, a few holes let the morning light in, though without his night-vision in his mask he would have a hard time seeing. Inside also felt less safe, the shadows around him seemed to shift and move in his peripheral. Certainly no one could be here, living in these conditions wouldn’t be the brightest move. 

“It smells like shit… what happened?” Matt whispered, following the tunnel back. It branched out to what could have at one point been a regal room; marble pillars were smashed and laying across the palace like floor. It was unsettling, he felt like he was in beauty and the Beast gone wrong. 

“Now’s not the time to be thinking about classics,” the Robin told himself, glaring around the room to try and gather more clues. Most other exits were blocked off, and others were simply collapsed. It seemed like whatever had happened, no one wanted the base to be searched through properly. 

Matt turned back towards where he entered and paused, out the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse. Slowly, he reached down to his belt, then jerked out a birdarang, throwing in into the direction of whoever he saw. A woman dropped out of the shadows, dodging the projectile. 

“Oh c’mon! Curare?” Matt whined, staring at the assassin. 

The killer raised her sword, clearly not in a talking mood. Matt jerked back, avoiding her wings as she closed in on him. Wherever she swung, the already ruined ruins got even more ruined- Matt was having a hard time taking in the environment and having tidy thoughts was difficult. What really mattered right now was that if he got nicked with that blade, he would die. He’d die and no one would save Terry or Bruce. So he wasn’t going to die.

Avoiding another attack, Matt threw another birdarang; it whizzed past the assassin, almost catching against her arm. She gave him  _ a look  _ that definitely promised pain. He didn’t have a ton of room here, running past collapsed walls and fallen pillars, and every turn he took, it felt like Curare was predicting his moves. 

“Are you the one behind this?” He called back to her, throwing down a flash-bang pellet at her and looking away to save his eyes from being blinded. When the light faded, he checked over his shoulder.

“Hey, where’d you-” 

Matt sucked in a breath as he was kicked in the side. He stepped back, clutching his side, taking a deep breath before throwing his own punch. It was dodged, way too easily for Matt’s ego to handle, and the assassin pulled her arm back to swing her sword. Matt took off backwards, barely avoiding the woman. She was in his space now, no more long distance attacks, and Matt had to consider his options. There was no way he could beat her in hand to hand, she’d been training longer than he’d been alive. Maybe he could-

Matt’s back hit the floor, his hands shooting up to protect his head. A loud crunch rang out from under his and he winced. 

“Wait wait!” Matt cried out, “I have something!”

Above him, Curare paused. Slowly, to show his movements, Matt reached into the pocket of Terry’s jacket. He pulled out his bag of chips, showing them to the lady. When she reached out, he jerked the bag back.

“No, you can’t just take them,” he reprimanded, “I’ll give them to you if you swear you won’t kill me!” 

Light was shining onto his face from one of the few cracks above, but it hit Curare too, and Matt could see the assessment in her eyes. Slowly, she nodded. Matt held up the bag, and Curare took it, then grabbed his hand and dragged him to his feet as well. 

“Thanks,” Matt mumbled, brushing debris off his suit, “did you blow this place up?”

Curare shook her head no, popping open the bag. Matt turned around to give her privacy while she reached under her head wrappings to munch on the snack. 

“Do you know who did?” He tried.

“Demon’s Head.” Was her clipped reply.

Matt clicked his tongue, looking around the destroyed room. “Why would Da- the Demon’s Head ruin his own hideout?”

After some silence where Matt waited for her to finish chewing, she answered, “moved to home base.”

Home? What the fuck did that mean?

Matt sighed, he didn’t have time for this. Damian wasn’t in Gotham, if he was, Matt wouldn’t be here. 

“Mad?”

“No, anxious,” Matt admitted, “I need to find him.” 

The chip bag hit the ground, and Matt turned around. He picked the bag up and stuffed it into his pocket, littering was bad. 

Curare swept her eyes around the base, nodding. “Then you’ll need to head towards Pakistan, the Hindu Kush range. You cannot miss him.” 

Matt perked up, looking at her with excitement clear on his face, “seriously?”

She nodded, eyes as cold as ever. 

“Why’re you helping me?” Matt asked, “are you gonna follow me and kill me later?”

Curare snorted, shaking her head no, “you work with Batman. And, the chips were good.” 

Matt laughed, and well, that was a good enough answer for him. He turned back to the exit, still watching his back  _ just in case  _ and stopped once more. 

“Wait, what are you doing here?” He asked her.

She pointed her swords towards one of the collapsed hallways.

“Gonna search the base? Looking for info?”

She didn’t respond but stalked off, clearly a murder gal on a mission. That was fine with Matt, it made his leave all the easier. 

Matt followed the tunnels back to the entrance, sighing when he stepped out into rain. He clicked his masks GPS back on to track down the batplane and started the trek back. The route was much more annoying now, the rain causing mud and the mud causing Matt to slip down onto just about every rocky surface available. 

Matt yelped as he tripped again, mud caking onto his calf as he fell. “Ugh, fuck!” He grumbled and yelled and cussed all the way back to the plane, smacking the key fob against the side of the aircraft until the camouflage switched off. He huddled onto the plane and tore off his suit, putting on some clean clothes. 

With a deep sigh, he collapsed into the pilots seat. Okay. The Hindu Kush range, he could do that. He set the new coordinates, sighing at the seven hours it was gonna take to get there. 

“At least I wasn’t brutally murdered today,” Matt chirped, helping pull the plane into the sky before clicking on camouflage and autopilot once again. Sitting back in his seat, he stretched. His side hurt from where he was kicked, and his back hurt from hitting the ground, but he was alive. Alive and on a rescue mission. 

“This gives me time to do laundry at least,” Matt cringed, looking at his mess of a uniform. Luckily it was mostly on his legs, so Terry’s jacket didn’t catch much of anything besides water. 

With the plane on it’s way, Matt set to work. He would be getting to Damian today, and he was going to save his family. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanted to post two chaps right away cause like. just wanna get to where damian shows up already lmao. sorry for any wrong info/spelling errors/ect


	3. Stolen Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wait im back... wild. anyways... damian time. i dont actually remember where i was going with this story so quality drop but hey. i hope my three readers like this <3\. anyways matt gets punched a lot again lol

Matt sighed, munching on his sandwich with a frown. He had an hour until landing and he hadn’t been able to sleep at all. He was tired, his body was achy from constant anxiety and getting thrown around by an assassin, and his mind was dull. At least his suit was clean and dried off, thank you batplane and all your wondrous functions including Giant Batsuit Blow Dryer. 

He was wearing Terry’s jacket again too, it was warm and cozy from being dried and the heat brought out the smell of whatever cheap cologne his brother always wore. It was comforting, not that he’d ever tell Terry that. His brother was mean enough, he didn’t need anything else to tease Matt over.

“If Damian’s not here either, I’m gonna be a little upset,” Matt grumbled to himself, staring at the sky ahead. “If Damian’s not here, then I’ve lost two days looking for him. Two days I could have spent just tracking Mr. Wayne and Terry down on my own. So he’s gotta be here.”

Matt grunted and crowded into the pilot's seat and prepared for the landing. Damian would be here this time. He just needed to find him. 

The range was dense with mountains but less lush than Tibet. “Curare said I should be able to spot it easily but I don’t see- goddammit right as I’m about to complain,” Matt grumbled guiding the plane around a curve and spotting a large headquarters. It was much more lively looking, no charred woods or broken buildings.

With autopilot on, the land was easy enough, it was another rough terrain but nothing bat tech couldn’t handle. Once the plane was steady on the ground about a mile out from the infrastructure, Matt grabbed his bag, sorting through the food he had left. 

“Mmm, okay. Poptart time,” he mumbled, shoving two of the Poptarts into his pocket. Making sure he had everything he’d need defense-wise in his belt, Matt grabbed the batplanes fob and flicked on its camouflage. He dropped out of the plane and huffed out a breath.. He had a walk ahead of him and he wasn’t running on much sleep. 

His body still ached from his last fight, but he was so close. Find Damian, get help, save Mr. Wayne and Terry. Then he could sleep for a week. 

“Alright, let’s go,” Matt hyped himself up, taking the first step of many towards where he’d spotted Damian’s base. 

Matt had only been rock climbing a few times, when he was younger and Terry still had time to take him. This was nothing like that. Rock climbing walls were lies. Matt held a new hatred of rocks. 

“Terry owes me so much after this,” Matt grunted under his breath, gripping onto the ledge of the mountain, pulling himself up. His map beeped at him, leading the way until he could see the building. 

It was massive, spanning up the side of a mountain and across the range; Matt had to twist his head around to see all of it. 

“Fuck, well wheres the entrance then?” Matt’s eyes slid from the walls closest to him to down the side, seeing no form of entry. He did spot a few cameras, damn he’d have to watch out for those. 

“Okay, I’ll just keep walking, there has to be a window or something around here,” Matt whispered, keeping low to avoid potentially being spotted. He followed the slope of the hill, keeping his eyes out for any cameras or cracks. 

Matt sneezed, something smelled like camp? As he looked to the sky, Matt spotted some smoke. It was oozing from the roof of one section of the base, and the wind had carried it towards Matt’s location.

“Bingo!” He said excitedly, already pulling himself up from his ledge. There were two cameras on the side of the building, pointed in opposite directions. If he just flew up in the air real quick, he might be able to land on the roof without drawing any attention to himself. 

He’d have to rely on balance, with Terry’s jacket on his suit's wings couldn’t pop out. Not that using them would be a good idea, they’d probably stick out too much anyways. Matt clicked his heels together, tensing up as his body shot up into the air. Without his wings to glide, it was more like a big jump than flying, and soon enough, the rooftop was under him and he was approaching it fast. 

Hitting rock, he rolled with the landing, barely saving his knees. Matt looked around quickly, listening to the sounds around him. It didn’t seem like anyone was about to bust out of the building and come attack him, so this may have been a successful landing. 

Picking himself up, Matt brushed the dust off his suit and headed towards what must be a fireplace. Matt peeked down into it, ignoring the smell and thanking Mr. Wayne for making the suits have eye covers. 

“Oh my god, I’m so stupid. Smoke comes from fire, fuck,” Matt whined, spotting the fire at the bottom of the stone fireplace. It wasn’t anything large, and realistically, if Matt was fast, it shouldn’t hurt him through the suit. But if he just dropped down and rolled out, anyone who may be in the room below would obviously see him. 

“Tt, okay. I’ll stake down about halfway. If I hear anyone, I’ll climb back out. Good idea Matt,” he mumbled, patting himself on the back. 

Hooking over the side of the fireplace, Matt braved his legs against the far wall. He steadied himself before dropping down, letting his back drag against the stone. One foot slide at a time, he shuffled down the chimney. Almost halfway down he heard talking, what sounded like a guy and a girl but it’s not like Matt really had a way of knowing for sure.

They were speaking in a different language and Matt’s suit could only translate bits of it. It sounded like some sort of argument on training? Methods of training were brought up? Matt really didn’t care to be listening to this, he was cooking sitting above the open flames like this. 

Luckily, the conversation came to a pause; Matt listened closely as the two speakers lolled into silence. Then the man spoke once more, saying something about finishing the conversation later, and two sets of footsteps made their way away from the firepit. 

“Schway,” Matt whispered, careful not to give himself away. He waited another few moments before dropping down and rolling out from the fireplace, hissing at the flash of heat.

“Ugh, gotta get better with my landings,” he groaned, the world dizzy and swaying around him from the roll. He hadn’t made it a step further before hands were grabbing him, pinning him to the floor.

“You do. That was terrible.”

Matt gasped, his head snapping back as he twisted to see his captor. “Fuck! Fuck, where’d you come from!?”

The man grunted, “you think I’m moronic enough to not recognize when someone is listening in on my conversations.” 

Matt squinted against the light, the man finally coming into focus. The clearer things got, the more he realized he knew that face. “Damian! It’s you!”

Damian glared at him, rude, and shoved him further into the ground. “What are you doing here, pillock? Did the security not tip you off that this is not your place?” 

Grunting, cause ouch his face was being smooshed into the ground, he did his best to answer. “We need help. And you can help! Batman has-” Matt bit his lip, holding back a yelp when Damian slammed his head against the tile. 

“Batman? If that idiot wanted something, he would know not to come to me.”

It’s a good thing Matt was wearing a mask to hide how hard he was rolling his eyes right now. “Yea, that’s because Batman doesn’t have a choice! He’s missing, and so is Mr. Wayne! I can’t find them on my own, so I need your help,” Robin explained. 

Damian didn’t say anything for awhile. Then suddenly, his weight was gone and Matt was drawn back up onto his feet. He turned to get a better look at the older hero(?), but was met with an ugly scowl.

“I will drop the security systems for three minutes. Leave now and do not return. This is your last opportunity.” The man commanded, voice icy. 

“But!”

“Silence. I want nothing to do with this,” he was already walking away and Matt began to panic.

He’d already lost so much time trying to find Damian in the first place, and now he’s just walking away? Terry and Mr. Wayne are still missing, no news from the police, and Matt hadn’t a clue how he was supposed to find and save his family on his own. There was no way he could let it end like this, he couldn’t let Damian just walk away.

Rushing forward, he reached out to grab the man's arm. But he was greeted with a fist to his face, he really needed to stop getting into fights. Jerking back, he stumbled away, Damian was facing him again and he looked livid. Okay, mistakes have been made, Matt cringed. This was gonna be a pain. 

“I told you to-”

“I’m not leaving until I get you to help!” Matt cut him off. 

“Fine, we’ll do this the hard way,” the former Robin sighed, cracking his knuckles. 

Matt squared his shoulders, lifting his arms to block a swipe. A fist whooshed past his face and he didn’t have time to react before another was landing a hit to his stomach. He groaned, coughing against the force before a kick to his chest sent him flying to the floor. Before the older of the two could get the drop on him again, Matt threw his leg out, managing to smash his foot into Damian’s knee. He got a wince for his efforts, and he pushed himself to roll to his feet, backing away from his attacker. 

“I don’t want to fight you!” Matt yelled, barely dodging another punch. 

“Because you know you’ll lose.” Damian finished, backing the kid up until he was cornered against a wall.

The next swing sent Matt’s head cracking against what must have been the hardest rocks he’s ever had his head slammed into. It was more than disorienting, and he couldn’t tell if his own punch actually landed or if his mind was just telling him that to make him feel better.

“Obviously I won’t win! That’s why I’m here. I can’t beat whoever was strong enough to take down both Batmen! I’m not strong enough to save  _ our  _ family!”

Damian hesitated, giving Matt a false sense of hope, before he slammed the boy back against the wall. 

“That is not my family.” 

Matt flinched when the other raised his fist again, the rustling making something fall from his pocket. Damian stopped, eyes following the drop. 

“What… is that?”

Matt peeked down around the fist suspending him against the wall.

“Oh… my Poptart fell.”

Damian looked confused but mostly disgusted, “why did you have that in your pocket? Is that why you’ve got that gaudy jacket over your suit?” 

“It’s not ugly, it’s Terry’s jacket. And I was hungry, it’s my next meal!”

Damian sighed, dropping him and grabbing the food; he opened the packaging and took a bite. “These still taste like cardboard.”

“Why’re you eating it then! That was mine, what's with people taking my food?” Matt whined, still wary of any secret attacks Damian may be planning.

“Is this what you’ve been eating while your brother has been gone? Trash breakfast pastries?” Damian asked, throwing the food back to the ground and ignoring Matt’s whining. 

“Yes, and they’re not that bad,” he argued.

Damian sighed, looking the kid over, “you’re Robin but you can barely take care of yourself.”

Matt huffed, “tt, Mr. Wayne and Terry won’t teach me anything good. Everything I’ve learned has come from… you?”

Damian made a gesture for him to explain. 

“Well, I found some old videos of you training with Batman. Well, two Bat guys? One wasn’t Mr. Wayne, but I don’t know who he was. And I’ve been studying those,” Matt elaborated, rubbing at his nose. It was bleeding, actually he was bleeding in a few places. Cool, he’d have to deal with that later.

“That’s all you’ve had to go off of?” 

“Terry’s taught me a bit, like throwing a punch. But he doesn’t want a Robin, so he doesn’t give me much to work with.” 

Damian hummed in understanding. “I have little to no desire to help you. However, it’s commendable that despite your lack of training, you’ve made it this far. I’ll assist you for now, try not to be terribly annoying.”

“Thank you, I think?” Matt laughed, “sucks that you only decided that after breaking my nose.” 

“Your nose isn’t broken, don’t be dramatic. Though I see your point, let me get you first aid,” Damian conceded, but Matt stopped him before he could lead him deeper into the hideout. 

“We’ve got first aid on the batplane, we gotta go now though! Batman has already been missing for days now,” Matt whined, pulling the former Robin towards the fireplace from before.

“Days? It took you that long to get here?” Damian yanked him back, “and we’re not leaving that way, I have actual doors.”

“Yea, and I need to make sure Ace is okay,” Matt explained, letting Damian lead him away, “I don’t want him to run out of food.”

“Ace?”

“My dog.”

Damian gave him an incredulous look, “he’s home alone?”

“Yea, but I dumped out a whole bag of food for him and filled up a bathtub with water in case he gets thirsty!” 

The Al Ghul sighed, looking in pain, “then you’re right. We must hurry. If I find you’ve killed your dog, I will be banning you from Robin for life.” 

Matt huffed, “he’ll be fine. He’s a smart dog!” 

“I’m sure,” Damian stopped in front of a heavily locked door. He steadily unlocked all of it’s latches, and Matt shuffled his feet impatiently. “As you clean yourself up on the plane, you will tell me everything you know. The situation better be dire, if I find out this is another of my fathers… plots, I will be knocking you and your brother on your asses once more.”

“Terry could beat you!”

“Bad argument.” 

Matt felt himself grin; this could’ve gone worse. Sure he got his ass kicked again, but now he had some real help. Things we’re gonna get better, they’d figure this out. And maybe if Matt was lucky, he’d convince Damian to spend the flight back to Gotham training him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> damian doesnt know hes abt to become an older brother lol


End file.
